MM_RFP_Q A.docx

MILITARY SEALIFT COMMAND

N00033-14-R-6507

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

The following are answers to questions received from potential offerors. The answers provide clarification only and DO NOT constitute an amendment to the solicitation.

1. Do you plan to conduct a Pre-proposal Conference or Site Visit for the subject solicitation?

ANSWER: No, an industry day was conducted in July 2013 and the Government does not feel that a site visit is necessary.

2. RFP Page 12, first paragraph under Specific Tasks requires the contractor to “… be prepared to provide these services in all areas of the world where the Government requires inventory services onboard Government ships.” This requirement is not addressed elsewhere in the solicitation nor in the sample tasks. What is the anticipated level of effort for this work?

ANSWER: While specifics will be provided with each Task Order (TO), as the RFP states, the contractor is advised that, while we have current fixed warehouse locations worldwide, if an emergent need should arise for a ship inventory in a specific area of the world not known at this time, the contractor should be prepared to have a team travel to accomplish the work. The Government’s expectation is that for events such as these (example, a decommissioning ship requiring a full offload), a new task order would be issued or a modification to an existing task order would be issued to cover the effort, as appropriate. Day-to-day warehouse resources are not expected to be reallocated for this kind of task.

3. List of Government counts and locations - shows a total man count of 40, whereas Attachment 3 – Labor Category Rate Table’s provided labor hours total to 51 people. Please clarify if the government is anticipating an increase in the workload for the base year and option years that account for the difference in the labor count, and, if so, please clarify specifically at which locations.

ANSWER: Attachment 12 requires an update to reflect the current Government work spaces available, as there are actually more. An amendment is forthcoming. The contractor should be advised, however, that workspace availability may be subject to change as operational tempo in the world dictates. Individual Task Orders will include specific details regarding the location of performance for that specific Order and Government workspace available for use by the contractor.

4. RFP Page 12, second paragraph under Specific Tasks specifies that there are storage facilities in Singapore and that support is required there, however, Attachment 12 does not assign any Government office space to the contractor. Is the contractor expected to provide office space or is an Amendment pending to specify the Government support facilities available?

ANSWER: Government Warehouse facility workspace will be available as explained in Attachment 12. An amendment is forthcoming to reflect the current workspace availability.

5. Although Attachment 12 gives the number of contractor personnel at each location, please advise regarding the breakup of labor categories at each location.

ANSWER: Task Orders will be performance based, and it will be at the contractor’s discretion to propose the correct labor mix to successfully accomplish each Task Order requirement. The Government will provide information regarding the workspace available for contractor use via Attachment 12, and each Task Order will also provide information regarding workspace available for that requirement. The available workspace number does not dictate how many contractor personnel must be proposed for a Task Order.

6. It is our understanding that the workforce in Guam is subject to Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA), where the Wage Determination does not apply. For pricing purposes, please clarify if the MSC Guam workforce is subject to CBA, or if Wage Determination applies.

ANSWER: IAW with 52.212-1 ADDENDUM “Solicitation Documents – Section B (5)” of the RFP, the offeror shall certify that it will comply with the Service Contract Act and Department of Labor Wage Determination (Attachment 15) in performance of this contract, should they apply. It is up to the contractor to determine instances in which the SCA/WD does not apply during performance, and instances in which SCA/WD does apply, and perform accordingly.

7. RFP Page 63, sub-factor 2 on Personnel designates four Material Management Supervisors as key but Attachment 3 only appears to have enough labor hours for 3 Material Management Supervisors. Should there be three or four Material Management Supervisors?

ANSWER: Attachment 3 is simply the pricing sheet that will be used for the price evaluation for this solicitation. This sheet reflects the government estimated hours of effort for each labor category under the anticipated life of the contract. The sheet is used to calculate a total evaluated price for each offeror. The total evaluated price for this solicitation, will not necessarily reflect the actual labor used during the life of the contract. The actual labor used will be dependent on each individual fixed price performance based Task Order. After award of the base IDIQ contract, individual Task Orders will be issued, and a labor mix/hours will proposed by the contractor based on the individual Task Order.

An amendment is forthcoming to update Attachment 03.

8. RFP Page 64: if the proposed project manager meets all requirements but is in the process of earning PMP certification, will the Government accept that resume as long as certification is achieved by the award date?

ANSWER: The offeror must have the PMP certification at the submission of the proposal.

9. RFP Page 66, sub-factor 3 on Quality Assurance requires the offeror to submit an ISO 9001:2008 certificate. If the offeror has a sub-contractor who is ISO 9001:2008 compliant and the offeror is in the process of earning ISO 9001:2008, will that meet the minimum requirement of this section?

ANSWER: The offeror must have the ISO 9001-2008 certification when the RFP response is submitted. The subcontractor’s certification will not meet this requirement if the prime does not have it.

10. If the Prime has a NAVSEA 04 approved QMS system, can this be substituted for the ISO certificate?

ANSWER: The offeror must have the ISO 9001-2008 certification when the RFP response is submitted. No alternate QMS processes will be accepted.

11. Can the Corrective Maintenance and Logistics System (CMLS) software be loaded into non-Government computers if necessary?

ANSWER: CMLS is located on the MSC IS Portal, a web-based application accessible worldwide and can be accessed via CAC-enabled Government and non-Government machines.

12. Please advise if an incumbent is providing the services. If there is an incumbent please provide information such as contractor name, contract number, contract award amount, period of performance.

ANSWER: CACI Federal, Inc. is the incumbent providing material management services. The contract number is N00033-08-D-6506. The period of performance of the total contract, including the contract options and exercised award terms is 01 October 2007 – 30 September 2014.

13. Please advise if any clearance is required for the contractor personnel.

ANSWER: Please see the DD254, which is incorporated as Attachment 14; facility clearance is needed.

14. Please advise regarding the FOIA officer contact information.

ANSWER:

Military Sealift Command 914 Charles Morris Court SE Washington Navy Yard DC 20398-5540

ATTN: FOIA COORDINATOR

15. Attachment 8 specifies the Key Labor Categories. Please advise the locations of these key personnel.

ANSWER: Per the PWS, MSC will require onsite (Government office/warehouse space) contractor support in the following, but not limited to, the following locations; Norfolk, VA, San Diego, CA, Singapore, Bahrain and Guam. An Amendment is forthcoming to incorporate Chinhae, South Korea and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

16. Volume I Technical Volume states that the Sample Tasks are 10 pages each for a total of maximum page count of 30 pages for all three sample tasks responses. Please clarify what is the total page count for Volume I – Technical Proposal to include introduction and executive summary.

ANSWER: The page limit requirement is for Subfactor 1 – Technical Approach to Sample Activities. The Technical proposal, as a whole, may have items such as an introduction, executive summary, or title page, which do not need to be included in the requirement for the Subfactor 1 Page Limit.

17. Para 52.212-1, Volume I, Factor 1, Subfactor 1 states “Responses shall be limited to ten (10) 8.5” x 11” pages, 1-inch page margins, and 12-point font for each sample task (total of 30 pages)”. Will the government consider modifying the requirement to just a total of 30 pages?

ANSWER: No.

18. Please clarify if the Government requires a Transition Plan, QA plan, deliverables and assigned labor as a part of the technical and management approach under each Sample Task Response.

ANSWER: A Transition Plan is not a deliverable in this RFP, but may be requested after award and as part of the initial Task Order.

19. Personnel Qualifications indicates a current fork truck operators’ license. Is this any different than a forklift operator’s license or forklift operator’s certificate?

ANSWER: No, these are the same. An Amendment is forthcoming to reflect this.

20. Personnel Qualifications indicates the Project Manager must hold a current fork truck operators license. This qualification doesn’t seem to be a qualification commensurate with Project Manager duties. Will the gov’t consider removing the requirement?

ANSWER: There are times that the project manager may need to assist on the warehouse floor – this is a requirement for being able to assist in that manner.

21. PWS 1.0, page 12 states “The Contractor shall utilize Government-owned automated logistics systems as part of required support. These systems are illustrated in Attachment 13" Will the Government provide training on the Government-owned automated logistics systems?

What is the duration of this training?

Where will this training be provided?

ANSWER: MSC will provide training for the Government Logistics Systems. The initial training will take place in Norfolk, VA at no cost to the Contractor. The duration of the training is TBD.

22. PWS 2.1 Page 13 states “Support for CONUS sites will be Monday through Saturday from 0730 to 1700 and OCONUS sites Monday through Friday 0730 to 1700."

Since the support is required for 9.5 hours day, will the Government allow for OT billing to comply with the applicable DoL and state laws on OT or does the Government expect the contractor personnel to observe staggered work hours so that that each employee is limited to 8 hours of work /day?

ANSWER: The Government expects contractor personnel to observe staggered work hours

23. PWS 2.1, Page 13 states: "The services require Contract personnel to utilize Government and COTS Web Enabled automated life cycle logistics and maintenance systems, warehousing and transportation management systems and other systems developed in the future as depicted in Attachment 13."

Will the Government provide training on the use the COTS web enabled systems?

What is the anticipated duration of the training?

Where will this training be provided?

ANSWER: MSC will provide training for the Government Logistics Systems. The initial training will take place in Norfolk, VA at no cost to the Contractor. The duration of the training is TBD.

24. PWS 2.1 Page 13 states "Contractor personnel are not authorized to operate Government vehicles and must provide vehicles to meet the needs to delivery of material to ships on the waterfront."

Will the Government provide a list of authorized transportation carriers, at the performance locations, who have been approved by the Government to transport and deliver material to ships on the waterfront?

ANSWER: No, a list of authorized transportation carriers will not be provided. Contractors must provide vehicles to ensure the delivery of material to ships on the waterfront. An amendment is forthcoming to include Attachment 18 which will provide the type of delivery vehicles required per location

25. PWS 2.1.4 Page 14 states: " The contractor will provide enterprise wide standardized storage and location naming conventions to promote efficient storage and retrieval of material."

Please clarify what is the deliverable on this PWS requirement.

ANSWER: There is no deliverable for this solicitation at this time. This requirement will be part of a Task Order, in which a deliverable may be required either at Task Order proposal submission or during Task Order performance. To clarify the requirement, it entails standardizing the warehouse location naming convention for all MSC warehouses. For example: Bldg. XXXX, Cell 1, Row 1 Rack 1.

26. PWS 21.3 Page 35 refers to Attachment 14, the DD 254. DD 254 section 8a shows Japan as one of the locations for performance on this contract. Please clarify what labor categories are required in Japan. For Singapore, Bahrain, Japan what are the applicable Wage Determinations?

ANSWER: An amendment is forthcoming. Wage Determinations do not apply to OCONUS locations unless an exception applies under the Service Contract Act of 1965 (FAR Subpart 22.10).

IAW with 52.212-1 ADDENDUM “Solicitation Documents – Section B (5)” of the RFP, the offeror shall certify that it will comply with the Service Contract Act and Department of Labor Wage Determination (Attachment 15) in performance of this contract, should they apply. It is up to the contractor to determine instances in which the SCA/WD does not apply during performance, and instances in which SCA/WD does apply.

27. PWS Page 61, Volume 1: Technical. It is stated that the page limit for each sample task is 10 pages (total of 30 pages).

Are the section / subfactor dividers used in the hard copy excluded from the page limit?

Are the cover page, table of contents, table of figures, introduction, summary pages excluded from the 30 page limit?

Is there a page limit for subfactor 2?

ANSWER: Subfactor 1 has a specific page limit; an offeror’s response to Subfactor 1 must conform to the stated page limits. The Technical proposal, as a whole, may have items such as an introduction, executive summary, section dividers, or title page, which do not need to be included in the requirement for the Subfactor 1 Page Limit. For Subfactor 2, each resume may not exceed 3 pages as explained in Attachment 10, any additional information such as table of contents (to list the names, page, and labor category of personnel) are not included in the 3-page maximum.

28. In attachment 03 – Labor Category Rate Table, the Labor Categories are not broken out by location. Shouldn’t we price by locality?

ANSWER: Attachment 3 is simply the pricing sheet that will be used for the price evaluation for this solicitation. This sheet reflects the government estimated hours of effort for each labor category under the anticipated life of the contract. The sheet is used to calculate a total evaluated price for each offeror. The total evaluated price for this solicitation, will not necessarily reflect the actual labor used during the life of the contract. The actual labor used will be dependent on each individual fixed price performance based Task Order. After award of the base IDIQ contract, individual Task Orders will be issued, and a labor mix/hours will proposed by the contractor based on the individual Task Order.

29. In attachment 07 – Past Performance Questionnaire, the due date is “BEFORE THE CLOSING DATE OF THIS SOLICITATION (14 APRIL 2014 @ 1000 Washington DC Time)”, but the SF 1449 states the due date is 21 April 2014 at 1000hrs. Which is correct?

ANSWER: 21 April 2014 is the correct closing date. An amendment is forthcoming to update Attachment 07.

30. We are required to enter amounts for travel and material. Can you please provide plug-in values so we can burden them with our rates and enter in Section B?

ANSWER: See Section 52.212-4 ADDENDUM of the RFP. Burdening reimbursables is not allowed under the contract.

For reimbursable travel, the Contractor shall be reimbursed for the reasonable actual cost of transportation, lodging, meals and incidental expenses. However, actual costs shall be considered reasonable, allowable, and reimbursable only to the extent that they do not exceed on a daily basis the maximum per diem rate in effect at the time of travel as set forth in the DOD Joint Travel Regulations located at https://secureapp2.hqda.pentagon.mil/perdiem/. Actual cost does not include handling charges, general and administrative cost, overhead, profit or any other indirect cost.

For reimbursable ODCs, the contractor shall be reimbursed for the reasonable actual cost of ODCs. Actual cost does not include handling charges, general and administrative cost, overhead, profit or any other indirect cost.

31. There are no CLINs for ODC’s. Where are we to enter the cost of Contractor provided vehicles?

ANSWER: Costs for reimbursables are not included in an offeror’s total evaluated price for the solicitation. Only the fixed-price portion of the contract is included in the price evaluation. Task Orders will include reimbursables as appropriate and each Task Order will have CLINs for those reimbursables.

32. Please confirm the LOE for this solicitation is 100% SCA and our labor rates will be derived from the Wage Determination Schedules based on locality?

ANSWER: IAW with 52.212-1 ADDENDUM “Solicitation Documents – Section B (5)” of the RFP, the offeror shall certify that it will comply with the Service Contract Act and Department of Labor Wage Determination (Attachment 15) in performance of this contract, should they apply. It is up to the contractor to determine instances in which the SCA/WD does not apply during performance, and instances in which SCA/WD does apply.

33. If this solicitation is governed by SCA, does the Government expect the contractor to map the Personnel Qualifications in attachment 08 to the SCA Occupational Codes?

ANSWER: No. It is up to the contractor to comply with the SCA when it applies during performance.

34. Based on the Labor Qualifications and Requirements, we believe that SCA doesn’t apply to this solicitation.

ANSWER: The Service Contract Act applies in accordance with FAR 22.1003-5.

35. Performance appears to start immediately upon award with a Kick Off meeting within 5 days of award. However Section 3, Transition Plan, indicates that transition will be completed prior to commencement of the first task order. Will the government provide the time allowed for the transition plan?

ANSWER: Yes, the Government will provide reasonable time allowed for a transition plan.

36. Will the government provide a certified list of all service contract employees on the contract per FAR 52.222.41(n) with anniversary dates of employment at award in accordance with FAR 52.222-17, Non-displacement of Qualified Workers (JAN 2013) (E.O.13495).

ANSWER: The Government and contractor will adhere to the requirements of FAR 52.22-17, should they apply.

37. Page 33/34 lists up to Attachment 16; however, there are 17 attachments. It is assumed that 17 is correct.

ANSWER: Correct, there are 17 attachments, an amendment is forthcoming.

38. Past Performance – Does it matter how many are from the Prime vs. Subcontractor(s)?

ANSWER: In Accordance With 52.212-1 ADDENDUM FACTOR 2 – Past Performance, if the offeror has not had three Government contracts within the last three years, information on recent and relevant subcontracts and/or commercial contracts may be submitted.

39. Is there a page limit to Volume II?

ANSWER: No, there is no page limit to Volume II.